13 miners died in Jeanesville, Pennsylvania after they were trapped by water in the Spring Mountain No. 1 Mine operated by J. C. Hayden and Company on February 4, 1891. Four others were rescued 19 days later. They were John Tomaskusky, Joe Mautchwitch, Bosso Franko, and John Berno. Source document.

Following the firing of a blast, water rushed into the Susquehanna Colliery at Grand Tunnel, Pennsylvania trapping Michael Schilling, William Cragel, and John Riner. Freedom from the flooded mine came for the trio when rescuers found them after 115 hours. They had to wait out the 4 days perched on a piece of timber 3 inches wide. When found, the men were almost completely exhausted and would require care to bring them through. Source document.

1906

Parral Mine Explosion, Parral, West Virginia — After an undisclosed period following the explosion, rescuers removed twelve miners alive, but it was believed that most of them would die from their injuries.

1908

All but one of 28 men and boys who were entrapped in the Mid-Valley Colliery near Shamokin, Pennsylvania were rescued after 1 day. Frank Orloskie, fell down a chute after the accident and was killed. Source document.

1910

Ernest No. 2 Mine Explosion, Ernest, Pennsylvania — Andy Kragear was overcome by the gas arising from the explosion. A rescue party using an oxygen helmet rescued and brought him to the surface about 8 hours after the explosion. Shortly afterward he gained consciousness and was able to tell where he boarded. He was the only man in the mine in the vicinity of the explosion that escaped.

1912

With 140 rescuers tearing at the rock and earth blocking the shaft of the Bunker Hill Mine at Sutter Creek, California, freedom came at noon on February 8 for sixty-two miners trapped for 23 hours. Wives and daughters of the trapped men held torches through the nights while rescuers assailed the jam. Source document.

1914

Cannon Mine Inundation  Andrew Churnick, 50, was killed by a inrush of water and gravel in No. 11 chute on the water level in the Gem seam. His body was recovered 4 days later near the first crosscut in the No. 12 chute. His partner, Mike Bobchurnick, was rescued after being imprisoned for 7 days near the 6th crosscut in the same chute.

1915

Explosion at Carlisle Mine, Carlisle, West Virginia – Twenty-one men were killed and four were rescued soon after the explosion by parties led by company officials. One of the rescued men, suffering from burns, was sent to a hospital. Source document.

1916

Davis No. 42 Mine Explosion, Kempton, Maryland — Those not directly in range of the blast hurried to the main entries and started for the foot of the shaft in which the cages were still operating. There they were met by rescue parties from the surface and quickly hoisted. Other rescuers made their way into the mine and located other miners who had been unable to reach the main lines of communication. These men were brought out after an undisclosed period.

1918

Amasa-Porter Mine Inundation, Crystal Falls, Michigan — Following an inundation of water in the Amasa-Porter Mine at Crystal Falls, Michigan, one miner was found unconscious by rescuers after an undisclosed period and brought to the surface. Three others managed to escape unaided.

1924

Milford Mine Inundation, Crosby, Minnesota — Fourteen-year-old Frank Hrvatin was responsible for saving the lives of two men when a surface cave-in caused water to flood the Milford mine from nearby Foley Lake a few miles north of Crosby. Frank reached the mine’s one vertical shaft and began to scurry up the ladder. With water climbing fast, Frank wormed around an older miner, Harry Hosford. But another exhausted miner, Matt Kangas, clogged their escape route. Frank recalled the "superhuman strength" that took over and enabled him to squirm between Kangas’ legs and hoist the man rung-by-rung up to safety. Then he reached back down and grabbed the wrist of Hosford, who was up to his waist in rising muck, hollering: "For God’s sakes, hurry! The three miners were among only seven that got out.

1925

City Mine Explosion, Sullivan, Indiana — Emery Davidson of Sullivan was the first injured man to be brought from the workings after an undisclosed period. He had a badly crushed chest, suffered when slate and rock loosened from the roof of the mine by the blast fell of him.

1927

Joseph Schultz, a miner at the Henry Clay Colliery near Shamokin, Pennsylvania was entombed 4½ hours in a blind heading after a pillar crumbled when disturbed by a shot. He was penned behind hundreds of tons of coal and rock in a space about 3 feet wide and 6 feet long. Rescuers found him exhausted. Source document.

1928

One miner was found alive after an explosion at the Kinlock underground coal mine of the Valley Camp Coal Company in Parnassus, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. The rescued miner was trapped for nearly 1 day. 12 miners were killed in this accident. (Parnassus was later renamed New Kensington).

Mama No. 3 Mine Explosion, Jenny Lind, Arkansas — Immediately after the early morning explosion in the Mama No. 3 mine, every miner in the district and volunteers were hurriedly formed into rescue parties. Shortly before noon, an entrance was blasted into the tomb where the miners were trapped and 105 men were rescued. About 35 of these were injured in the explosion and others were suffering from the effects of gas.

1930

Standard Coal Company, Standard Mine Explosion — Five were rescued by crews from nearby mining communities. The five, taken out after an undisclosed period, had bratticed themselves from the deadly gas fumes, far back in the workings and had left notes directing their rescuers where to find them.

1937

Robert Johnson spent eight days without food in utter darkness in an abandoned Flemington, West Virginia coal mine. Guided by his weak cries, Bill McDonald, Minor Cleavenger and Lon Smith found the man and brought him out on a stretcher. Source document.

1943

Smith No. 3 Mine Explosion, Carbon County, Montana — As told in the book "Red Lodge Saga of a Western Area" by Shirley Zupan and Harry J. Owens, three miners were rescued from the Smith No. 3 mine disaster. At the time of the explosion, Alex Hawthorne, Willard Reid and Eli Houtonen felt unusual pressure in their ears with no sound. A terrible wind came at them from inside the mine, blowing debris. Hawthorne reached a phone and sent word that something was wrong, and that he was coming out. He was then overcome by gas. Reid and Houtonen were knocked off their feet by the force of the wind. Reid managed to get up and tried to waken Houtonen. Guided by Reid's lamp, rescue men found the three and took them above ground. The three survived the explosion; 74 others did not.

1949

Kittoe Mining Works Fire, Benton, Wisconsin  Fifteen miners were rescued after being trapped for seven hours by a fire which occurred in the engine room of the Kittoe Mining Works near Benton, Wisconsin. The fire cut the men off from their 167-foot escape shaft to the mine head. Except for one miner who suffered a slight heart attack, all the men remained calm throughout their ordeal.

1958

Glenn Burchett was rescued after a 6 hour roof fall entrapment in the Amherst Coal Company’s Lundale Mine at Morgantown Post, West Virginia. Rescue workers using hydraulic jacks slowly and methodically lifted the fallen slate to a point where Burchett could be extricated. Sadly, Burchett later died from his injuries.

1977

Unnamed Coal Mine Cave-in, Apollo, Pennsylvania — John R. Bazella helped to rescue Donald J. McCully from a cave-in, Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1977. When a cave-in occurred in a coal mine, McCully, 46, was completely buried alongside a mining machine but was able to breathe because the shale and sandstone rock that had fallen was partially supported by collapsed wooden beams. Bazella, 31, coal mine mechanic, and other workmen gathered to assist in the rescue of McCully. After another machine had removed enough rocks to uncover the end of the collapsed boom of the mining machine, a tunnel was dug by hand alongside the boom. It was necessary to cut through a fallen beam along the way as, with the men crawling in and out, the careful removal of rocks finally extended the tunnel to McCully. Rocks were removed from around him. As a result of the efforts of Bazella and the other men, McCully then was pulled from under the rock fall via the tunnel. For their bravery, Mr. Bazella, Clayton R. Wall, Vincent J. Shilobod, Thomas V. Damico, and Lawrence P. Rankin were given the Carnegie Hero Award. Source document.

Rescuer Deaths in February

1899

Diamondville No. 1 Mine Asphyxiations, Diamondville, Wyoming  Ten brave men were risking their lives endeavoring to reopen the Diamondville No. 1 coal mine. They were all knocked down, one by one, by blackdamp. When help arrived, two were already dead, and the others were resuscitated with great difficulty. The names of the dead are John L. Russell and Lee Wright. Source document.

1907

Thomas No. 25 Mine Explosion, Thomas, West Virginia — A rescue party of 7 men entered the mine and were exploring for survivors. They had penetrated as far as the third heading when suddenly the current of air died away. The motor which operated the large fan above the entrance had burned out. Now exposed to the blackdamp, 4 of these men were quickly overcome. Dan R. Jones died from asphyxiation and the other 3 were removed by re-enforcements and revived under the treatment of physicians.

1911

Cokedale Mine Explosion, Trinidad, Colorado  On February 9, 1911, E. A. Sutton, assistant superintendent of the Cokedale mine of the Carbon Coal & Coke Company, Carbondale, Colorado, lost his life while wearing a Dräger helmet-type oxygen breathing apparatus after an explosion in this mine in which 17 men were killed. It is believed that this was the first instance in the United States, wherein a person died while wearing oxygen breathing apparatus.

Belmont Mine Fire, Tonopah, Nevada  William A. "Big Bill" Murphy, a 28-year-old cage operator, twice successfully descended into the Belmont Mine inferno to bring confused and unconscious co-workers to the surface. Said to say "he was nearly done in," he made his third descent into the mine. This would be his last. In 2006, a statue was erected and dedicated in Tonopah to "Big Bill," the hero of the Belmont Mine Fire.

1916

Pennsylvania Mine Fire, Superior, Arizona  Approximately 195 men were hoisted to the surface in less than 45 minutes after the discovery of the fire. Six men escaped through the 1,000-foot level to the Tramway mine. Subsequently, two men lost their lives while wearing Dräger apparatus during rescue and recovery work.

1918

Carthage Fuel Company, Mine Exploration Fatality, Carthage, New Mexico  On February 26, 1918, David Murphy, an experienced mine rescue volunteer from Dawson, New Mexico, lost his life while wearing a Fleuss mouthpiece-type oxygen breathing apparatus during an exploration trip in the Government mine of the Carthage Fuel Company, Carthage, New Mexico.

1921

Sahara No. 8 Mine Explosion, Illinois  Three men lost their lives by suffocation in oxygen apparatus while opening a fire sealed area to see if the fire was extinguished. The oxygen of one of the three man crew was fully consumed and the two other men used up all their oxygen in attempted rescue of the one man who went down.

1926

Nelson Mine Explosion, Nelson Creek, Kentucky  Immediately after the blast, Cecil Fulkerson, manager, led a squad of rescue men into the pit. With him were Archie and Leonard Huter and George Brandon, Jr., whose fathers were killed in the explosion. Archie Huter, Brandon, and two others were asphyxiated by blackdamp. Fulkerson and Leonard Huter were overcome by the gas and their condition was serious.

1930

Standard Mine Explosion, Standardville, Utah  The three men in the connected No. 3 mine were killed by the forces, and 17 of those in No. 1 mine died in the afterdamp. Five of the men in No. 1 mine successfully barricaded themselves and were rescued. Three men of a fresh air crew were killed by a falling roof slab on February 7. Source document.

1943

C. F. H. (Mulcahy) Mine Cave-in, Shullsburg, Wisconsin  Two of the victims were buried in an initial collapse, which occurred while they were preparing to shoot down a section of the rock suspected of being weak. Six others were buried in a second cave-in, which occurred while they were attempting to dig out the bodies of the first two men.

Smith No. 3 Mine Explosion, Bearcreek Mountain, Montana  One rescuer later succumbed from the toxic gas, after spending days looking for the miners.

1958

Unnamed Mine Avalanche, Ouray, Colorado — Walter Alton Smith died while aiding in an attempt to rescue Edward L. Mason following an avalanche, Ouray, Colorado, February 14, 1958. While Mason, 44, assistant mine foreman, was making his way to a mining camp through snow on a road in a mountain canyon, an avalanche occurred, burying him in a bank of snow 20 feet deep that covered the road for 500 feet. Another man some distance behind him was caught at the edge of the avalanche but succeeded in digging himself out. He made his way to the camp a mile and a half away and summoned help. Despite the threat of a four-month accumulation of snow in dangerous slide areas on the mountains, Smith, 46, mine foreman, and another man, each operating a bulldozer, began clearing the road to the snow bank, aided by a miner who used a probing pole to determine depths. Nearly three hours later, one of the bulldozers ceased to function within 600 feet of the snow bank. As the three men discussed further action, a second and larger avalanche began at the mountain crest 2,800 feet above them. Smith and the two other men ran along the road in an effort to escape the snow surging swiftly down the mountainside, but all were buried in a snow bank as much as 30 feet deep covering the road for 1,500 feet. Rescue parties recovered their bodies six days later. Mason’s body was located the next day. Walter Smith was posthumously bestowed the Carnegie Hero Award for his brave attempts. Source document.

Download these documents to read the entire story

Master File
Listed by the month when they occurred, this file contains hundreds of successful rescues and incidents of rescuer death in the United States.

Successful Mine Rescues
Listed in descending chronological order, this file contains hundreds of successful rescues in the United States.

Incidents of Rescuer Death
Listed in descending chronological order, this file contains more than 100 incidents of rescuer death in the United States.